You're misinterpreting my comment. At the time of posting that picture, there were about 7 post game threads. The "I don't care" portion was in regards to the fact that I posted it in every single thread regardless of the redundancy of the gif.

That was ugly as hell but a much needed win. I never thought I would see Michigan win a game, let alone against a top 10 team, without making a single 3-point shot. The best thing that I saw was fight and defensive intensity. Michigan played defense with intensity for 40 minutes. Sparty played awful on offense but so did we. Our defensive intensity kept us in and allowed us to pull it out. Now, we just need to put some offense and defense together to get it going in the right direction next week. Go Blue!!!!

That said, this could be a good thing. To beat a team like this when we don't play well, I take that as a glass half full type thing.

I thought we executed an offense (in stretches) better today than we have in a loooong time. Just multiple guys touching the ball, back cuts, etc. We did a much better job of running motion rather than relying 100% on Burke creating.

Didn't know that. That said, this could be a good thing. To beat a team like this when we don't play well, I take that as a glass half full type thing. I thought we executed an offense (in stretches) better today than we have in a loooong time. Just multiple guys touching the ball, back cuts, etc. We did a much better job of running motion rather than relying 100% on Burke creating.

When Burke missed the layup to go 12 I got a sinking feeling. Then ther refs went haywire for 2 minutes and it was a game. When they got a 3 pt play out of Costello's 1 ft airball, I thought we were doomed.

Thanks. I know this is redundant and probably unbelieveable (considering that gem above) but I'm a bit of a grammar/spelling nazi myself. Earlier when I typed that post I was going to go back and figure out how to actually spell that (in the heat of the moment I drew a blank on how to spell the damn word, it happens*), and edit the post. I forgot.

*For example I tried to spell Cincinnati a few months back and literally had no idea how it was actually spelled, ya know, all those n's, c's, and t's.

Yeah, maybe I am just being a party pooper, but my joy over winning is being seriously tempered by letting them get back in the game at the end. I think it was a mix of taking our foot of the accelerator, the refs, and making some bad decisions. I am happy we won obviously, but I am having a hard time getting over being pissed the f*** off that we let them back into the game at the end. I wish we could just really step on a good teams throat when given the chance instead of squeeking by like this.

Yup. We shot ourselves silly in the last few minutes. The lane violation on the free throw amidst a five-point MSU play would've loomed huge if we lost. Some sloppy ball handling. Missed FT's. Defensive rebounding.

Energetic defense made up for the other sloppy mistakes, though. That's the kind of defensive intensity I'd like to see carry through for the rest of the season.

I know I wasn't the only one down and ready to say "well Trey, you lost this one for us...I'm not going to yell, kick, scream because you've won MANY more for us...but this one is on you."

He was making terrible decisions with the ball. He missed a wide open Hardaway in the corner, he should've given the ball up to GRIII on a fast break, he tried to spin in the lane in a double team, he committed a terrible foul 28 feet from the basket. It was a horrifying 3-4 minutes.

Then out of nowhere...he flipped the switch and was just as good as he was bad for that small stretch.

In the end, that's what we're going to get. I just hope he learns to trust his teammates more. If he's got the ball in his hands, it's his decision to make. Make the right/smart one.

He has every right to get upset if we go down the floor and he never touches the ball and we take a bad shot. But there's nothing wrong with HIM making the decision for someone else to shoot.

I hope he learns from this game because we're going to need a total team effort if we're going to make this Final 4 run. I still believe.

As bad as that stretch was, we still have Trey Burke and no one else does. Advantage...us.

I know I wasn't the only one down and ready to say "well Trey, you lost this one for us...I'm not going to yell, kick, scream because you've won MANY more for us...but this one is on you."

He was making terrible decisions with the ball. He missed a wide open Hardaway in the corner, he should've given the ball up to GRIII on a fast break, he tried to spin in the lane in a double team, he committed a terrible foul 28 feet from the basket. It was a horrifying 3-4 minutes.

Then out of nowhere...he flipped the switch and was just as good as he was bad for that small stretch.

In the end, that's what we're going to get. I just hope he learns to trust his teammates more. If he's got the ball in his hands, it's his decision to make. Make the right/smart one.

He has every right to get upset if we go down the floor and he never touches the ball and we take a bad shot. But there's nothing wrong with HIM making the decision for someone else to shoot.

I hope he learns from this game because we're going to need a total team effort if we're going to make this Final 4 run. I still believe.

As bad as that stretch was, we still have Trey Burke and no one else does. Advantage...us.

Trey Burke can play the game pretty well; on defense too (& much more than just his last couple plays of the game)!!

Defense needs to play like this EVERY game. They're ceiling for the post-season goes up when they play like they did today. Combined with a potent offense, this team is very good and stock rises. Great W. I'm not sure how I would have handled that gme ending in a loss. Very weird last 4 minutes (wtf, refs and us doing some screwy things with the ball).

We would have won by 16 actually, unless on any of those misses we got an offensive board and scored. That said, I would have simple liked to have been 3 out of 12 maybe and win by ten. Seems like a nice round number for the land of make believe here.

Also, I don't think we out roughed them...I think we played tough enough to beat them and their ilk, and tough enough to play our game.

That bit of life and All the points in the paint and scoring in the set offense was a very very good sign for march.

I'm no expert, but it looked like some good defense getting played. Definitely were physical, and that was nice to see.

Maybe I'm way off base here, but is it possible that one of the reasons Michigan does not "out-physical" State is because they are well coached enough to inately know what level of physicality should be a foul? It's a perfectly valid criticism to say that the team should be coached to play at the level of physicality allowed by the particular officiating crew, but in some ways good coaching and repetition in practice would probably get some of the players thinking twice about playing MANBALL on the hardwood.

THJ deserves some praise after today's game. I know he didn't shoot well, but many of those were tough luck misses around the hoop, if 3 or 4 of his layups don't roll off the rim this would have been a completely different game. Despite his struggles on the offensive end he played strong defense all game and rebounded the ball well. He's too good of a shooter to fall into a prolonged slump, but the rest of game was really solid today. Great win. Go Blue!

THJ deserves some praise after today's game. I know he didn't shoot well, but many of those were tough luck misses around the hoop, if 3 or 4 of his layups don't roll off the rim this would have been a completely different game. Despite his struggles on the offensive end he played strong defense all game and rebounded the ball well. He's too good of a shooter to fall into a prolonged slump, but the rest of game was really solid today. Great win. Go Blue!

It is getting out of hand and almost always leaves the refs in a bad spot at the end of a close game. Do they tighten it up because of the situation or do they continue to let them kill each other. I don't like the ticky tack fouls, but kids are not getting rewarded for taking the ball to the rim. Instead they are forced to pull some circus shot out of their a$$.

I hate to be down on a good kid and an injured one at that, but as for this team performing well on defense like they needed to do -and did- I was glad LeVert got so much playing time along with us going two bigs a few times. The way he's been shooting threes hasn't been worthy of the amount of playing time he's gotten as his defense leaves much to desired. Hope he's okay though and didn't suffer any type of concussion or something along those lines.

I thought Michigan got back to playing Michigan Basketball. They played with energy all game and really fed off the crowd.

Positives:
---Trey Burke over everybody.

---McGary gave us GREAT minutes.

---Morgan was in this game.

---Michigan FINALLY...FINALLY matched its opponents toughess. This to me was the biggest difference in this game vs. most of those games in March. We were too soft. I think having "little brother" come to your house after waxing you 3 weeks ago was the perfect recipe. We went toe-to-toe and took it to Sparty.

Negatives:
---Execution late in the clock...we still can't get anything out of this ISO that Burke loves to run. For all of the love Burke is getting now (and deserves) he was quickly turning into the goat late in the game with the turnovers, bad shots, and poor execution. Obviously he settled back down and game up with 2 of the biggest plays we'll ever see.

---Still not enough "2 Big" offense. You'd think with Nix and Payne, we'd go with 2 of the Morgan/McGary/Horford trio more...but we still don't go to this NEARLY enough. When we did, we extended a 6 point lead to double figures. Then we went back to "1 Big" and MSU climbed back into the game. We're so much bigger, tougher and a much better rebounding team with 2 of the 3 in the game. Obviously with GRIII you can't do it all game, but we still don't go to this enough.

---Not subbing McGary out after the Payne make. It's a made free throw, we should've subbed 1. to allow Burke to gather everyone and get an inbounds play to a guard. 2. to get McGary out. Someone on the bench has to be sending the guards in at this point.

All in all, a GREAT win. Michigan stays perfect on its home floor as well. Crisler has quickly become a VERY tough place to play.

I thought the MSU floor slapping was cute, but I think the woke a giant and that could seriously be something that turns our season around and gets us back on track. Everyone knows what the issue was. We had no energy, no toughness, no fight. MSU slapping the floor was exactly what we needed. That fire, that passion, that "f**k you, NOT IN MY HOUSE!"

Love to get the W, especially when its over Little Brother, but it makes the Penn State loss, and especially the Wisconsin loss, hurt even more. I know freak losses like that happen every year in college basketball, but we would never have lost either of those games.

I said to my dad that burke should have not taken the layup and pulled it out and held for the last shot after that steal but that was just a crazy game theory that comes out of my head during a nerve racking game. Glad he dunked it and we won.

Something rarely thought about, I would think, emerges when you consider the 0-12 performance in three-point land.

TEAM

FG%

3FG%

FT%

Eff. FG%

MICHIGAN

42.4%

0.0%

72.7%

42.4%

MICHIGAN ST.

35.6%

27.3%

75.0%

40.7%

We still outshot them despite being outrebounded (28 total to their 41, and 9 offensive rebounds to their 17), but sloppiness with the ball (18 turnovers to out 7 turnovers) and some inattention on the part of State (compare our 11 steals to their 3) made all the difference in the world.

Michigan loses to PSU despite scoring seventy-eight points but beats MSU w/out a made three. We knew this team could surprise us in bad ways, but now we know they can surprise us in good ways too. Great, great win...Also, Caris Levert = valuable player. Very happy for the kid.

Great job today! I saw a lot of hustle, and not a lot of stupid plays. Who needs threes, right??? But I think Stauskas is more important than "just a shooter that can also drive". I think his ability to get open for good looks is important, because there seemed to be a lack of great looks by Vogrich, LeVert, and Spike. But hey, minor complaints!!! Great game, and go blue! Beat the Hoosiers and Purdue!

Yes, the defense stepped up and was affecteive on the guards of the spartans, and i apologize if someone above already mentioned this, but I'm so glad they were actually running some sort of offense again. There weren't many, if any moments of trey burke hero ball where he takes over possesion with 12 seconds left on the shot clock and he holds it to make an isolation play. We were setting screens, making cuts, extra passes when appropriate, everything you want out of an offense. I think a lot of that can be attributed to Jordan Morgan. He is the glue guy on this team and is absolutely vitale to this teams success down the road. Either way, hope this scheme and effort continue the rest of the way. Go Blue!

Sure a win is a win and we'll take it. But someone brought up the topic and it was discussed. I'm glad they didn't get negged to hell for bringing it up too. Half the time people go nuts on people who bring up negative things during a win...like it didn't happen.

Just like the 0-12 from 3...if it wasn't discussed in this thread, I would've never have realized how bad we actually shot.

As long as you're not saying stuff like "we should've lost" or "we suck"...I don't see a problem with discussing the game in its entirety...the good and the bad.

We won by 1 point, there's going to be some bad. If we won 110-57, then I might agree with you.

I apologize, Mr. Yost. I am just surrounded by Spartan fans and find them terrible awful. They even bother my 9 year old daughter! So I am just ultra happy tonight and really don't give a rip if the team was terrible at anything. So ignore me as I "wooo hooo and Suck it, Spartans!" All. night. long.

I was really excited, but then I looked at the rest of the Big Ten scores and saw Penn State lost to Minnesota 73-44. Seriously, how the fuck did we lose that game? I pomptly got uncomfortable for a few seconds then said eff it, can't change the past, and poured myself a celebration beer.

Our inside presence was INSANE. If we can maintain a semblance of that and hit some 3s, we really are capable of a final four appearance. Of course, given the unpredictible nature of this season, I'm not sure I'm ready to predict (hm, lots of predicts) that yet.

I think this team really lacked confidence. After the first MSU lost, I just think we were flat tired.

But I think some doubt crept into the minds of our younger guys and our older guys really aren't THAT old.

We needed confidence and I really think this is the type of game that turns seasons around. You win (even ugly) and you believe again.

Even in the first half, GRIII gets the ball outside the 3-point line and goes STRAIGHT at the basket for a beautiful layup. He hadn't done that since we played @ Illinois.

Then the slapping the floor. Burke goes at them and when they come down Michigan players are slapping the floor right back at them as if to say "we're not scared...we're right here." It continued after the timeout (even though Burke got yelled at for it).

I loved the energy and emotion we played with tonight. No more going through the motions like we had been since MSU round 1.

We got back to attacking and playing with a chip on our shoulder. We need to hold on to this, the shots will come back...confidence will bring them back.

This Purdue game is going to be very telling. I'm not saying we need to come in and win by 30 (although, that would be nice)...but we just need to EXECUTE. Execute the offense, make open shots and play solid defense.

Similar to how we played Iowa at home this year and @ Northwestern. We just executed.

If we can do that, I seriously think we're "back" and I like us over IU. If we struggle....ugh, don't even want to think about it. Let's execute, let's play with passion and energy, let's WIN!

Because Penn St. Really pissed people off and broke a lot of faith in this team. Also Purdue was on FIRE against Wisconsin and hustling, creating steals out of thin air, and running plays. I'm still skeptical Michigan manages to do the two games in a row.

We found confidence and finally found a way to win without the three ball... Found our strength in driving the ball, but it did feel at times like we relied to much on Trey which isn't bad in certain cases like tonight, but we don't need to get overreliant on him. Good win overall, but let's not overlook Purdue on Wednesday... Finally happy again.

Would be a stretch. Better defense had as much to do with Morgan getting a bit more mobility back and McGary not overplaying everything and giving up dunks.
Yes Caris>Nik on defense but i don't think that makes up for having to account for Nik at all points on offense. I haven't seen anything either that lends me to believe the team has any better chemistry with him off the court.

What is the need to post the same comment (broken up into 2) in multiple threads though?

My son and I call that the "Trey Burke steal", and we have worked tirelessly on that play. He did it yesterday in both of his league games with one leading to a big layup in the championship. Thanks Trey...

my son is a 12 y/o point guard for his team that won the city title for his age. He was the tourney MVP. He plays in Korea, so yeah, it's a little different here. But still.

Trey is his favorite player and we have learned a lot from watching him and me coaching some of his moves and tendencies. We haven't done the Trey Burke Steal practice yet, but we will this week. That was my thought after watching it live.

One YMCA league and another AAU league. He hasnt achieved "MVP" status yet for his league but we are working toward that goal. Remember funnel the ball handler to a corner and turn him. If he turns his back on your son then half the battle is won. Im sure he will add this to his arsenal in no time enroute to another MVP season.

I was very surprised how easy it was for us to get to the rim against MSU's defense. If we could have shot anywhere near our usual 3-point percentage, we'd have won handily.

Our defensive intensity was light years better than it was four days ago. MSU basically could not score against our defense when it was set. They got a huge chunk of their points either on putbacks or in transition. If you'd have told me we'd give up 84 points to PSU and then hold Sparty to 57, I'd have thought you were nuts. College basketball is a funny game.

I was constantly texting with my UM fan brother as we simul-watched, and at the end of the game we had an exchange regarding strategy that I hope someone with greater basketball knowledge than myself can comment upon. The conversation started when Mcgary received an inbound pass and was fouled with 4.9 seconds left (and subsequently missed the front end of a 1-and-1). He wondered why they passed to Mitch, I responded that it's better than a 5-second violation, and he wondered why not just throw a Hail Mary? I was initially skeptical, but I think he might actually have a good point. Up by 1, with under 5 seconds to play, why not have the inbounder aim for the rafters and land the ball as far from our basket as possible while still keeping it inbounds? As soon as the ball is touched, the clock will start in a scramble situation with the ball 60+ feet from our basket. The only drawback I can see with this tactic is the possibility of a loose-ball foul on us, but it's just as likely the call goes on them, and even more likely the refs just let them play. What flaws with this strategy am I missing?

Obviously it's best to get the ball in the hands of a good FT shooter, but Sparty shut that down, and other teams may be able to do the same. So, if your options are A. extremely risky pass to good FT shooter, B. easy pass to bad FT shooter, C. scramble situation as far from our basket as possible, or D. 5-second violation... what's best?

That strategy only makes sense if you are conceding that Mitch or whoever catches the ball on the inbound is going to always miss that first free throw. If he makes both it is a 3 point game instead of a one point game.

There was too much time on the clock. I think Michigan made the right play, McGary had Horford streaking towards midcourt and could have passed to him to use even more time but either he missed him or didn't want to risk turning it over.

First in response...you HAVE to inbound the ball. It was a good find and AWESOME job by McGary to come back to the ball.

Second, NOOOOOO!!!! Do not throw a hail mary! What if no one touches the ball? Then MSU gets the ball under their own basket. It's not like they have to go the length of the floor.

Also, this is too hard to coordinate without a timeout.

***what should've been done***

1. Sub Horford IN with McGary after the first shot.
---Michigan did this, it was the right move because you want to make sure you get the rebound if they miss or miss on purpose.

2. Have your best FT shooters at the scorers table DURING the 2nd attempt.
a. ...if he misses, you're fine. You've already got your rebounders in the game. Just pull back your FT shooters and don't allow them to check in. It's a live ball, get the rebound and go to the other end after they foul.
b. ...if he MAKES it (which he did). You can sub off a make. Sub McGary, Horford OUT and get Albrecht and Stauskas (if he's okay) or another shooter IN. Now you've got guys in the game who can make that 1-and-1 once you inbound the ball and they foul.

Luckily it didn't burn us, but McGary shouldn't have been in the game. Horford either (unless he can shoot FTs, I don't know his numbers).

First in response...you HAVE to inbound the ball. It was a good find and AWESOME job by McGary to come back to the ball.

Second, NOOOOOO!!!! Do not throw a hail mary! What if no one touches the ball? Then MSU gets the ball under their own basket. It's not like they have to go the length of the floor.

Also, this is too hard to coordinate without a timeout.

***what should've been done***

1. Sub Horford IN with McGary after the first shot.
---Michigan did this, it was the right move because you want to make sure you get the rebound if they miss or miss on purpose.

2. Have your best FT shooters at the scorers table DURING the 2nd attempt.
a. ...if he misses, you're fine. You've already got your rebounders in the game. Just pull back your FT shooters and don't allow them to check in. It's a live ball, get the rebound and go to the other end after they foul.
b. ...if he MAKES it (which he did). You can sub off a make. Sub McGary, Horford OUT and get Albrecht and Stauskas (if he's okay) or another shooter IN. Now you've got guys in the game who can make that 1-and-1 once you inbound the ball and they foul.

Luckily it didn't burn us, but McGary shouldn't have been in the game. Horford either (unless he can shoot FTs, I don't know his numbers).

Just think, if we could just hold a 15 point lead against freaking Penn State with 10 minutes to go, we're probably either keeping Gonzaga from #1 or we're right behind them at 2. Not that the polls matter ultimately, but instead of 1 or 2 we'll be anywhere from 6-8 tomorrow.

Then there's the whole controlling our own destiny for a Big Ten Title thing, but oh well.

Enough dwelling on the bad, I'm just so glad we pulled this one off. Focus on winning @ Purdue and hoping somehow OSU can knock off IU in Bloomington so that Sunday is for a share of the B1G Title.

Very proud of the team. Nice to get a big win. Played hard. I hope Tim keeps his head up, he looked very upset especially toward the end of the game. The guys showed a lot of heart after a disappointing couple of weeks. Go Blue!

I think he was a little upset at his play and a little upset that he wasn't getting the ball.

He was WIDE open 2 times in the last 3 minutes and both times Burke took it by himself. It made THJ force shots because he wasn't getting touches.

He's so much better when he's in rhythm and this is why I think Burke has to distribute the ball more. He'll get it back, but keep everyone involved and their head in the game.

For those who've played basketball, we all know how frustrating it can be to be WIDE open for a shot and have someone go down the floor, see you, pass up the assist and turn the ball over or miss a wild shot. It's like "why did I even run down here and get in position?"

Am I saying it's an issue? No. It's just one of those things that happens. Tim did the same thing last year as a sophomore. Sometimes still does it. But I think he was frustrated at his lack of touches today, you could see everytime he DID get the ball, he was looking to score. He almost jacked up a crazy 3 at the end of the game which would've been a TERRIBLE shot, but he wisely pulled it back down.

Would've loved to see Coach B run a play for him out of one of those TOs late in the game like we ran in the Ohio game, but I'm not going to second guess much after a win.

I think he was a little upset at his play and a little upset that he wasn't getting the ball.

He was WIDE open 2 times in the last 3 minutes and both times Burke took it by himself. It made THJ force shots because he wasn't getting touches.

He's so much better when he's in rhythm and this is why I think Burke has to distribute the ball more. He'll get it back, but keep everyone involved and their head in the game.

For those who've played basketball, we all know how frustrating it can be to be WIDE open for a shot and have someone go down the floor, see you, pass up the assist and turn the ball over or miss a wild shot. It's like "why did I even run down here and get in position?"

Am I saying it's an issue? No. It's just one of those things that happens. Tim did the same thing last year as a sophomore. Sometimes still does it. But I think he was frustrated at his lack of touches today, you could see everytime he DID get the ball, he was looking to score. He almost jacked up a crazy 3 at the end of the game which would've been a TERRIBLE shot, but he wisely pulled it back down.

Would've loved to see Coach B run a play for him out of one of those TOs late in the game like we ran in the Ohio game, but I'm not going to second guess much after a win.